Ahh, it’s a rough life.  I am one lucky girl.  In the last two weeks I’ve been in Naples, Florida and San Diego, California.  Both places provided a great escape from cold, rainy Atlanta.  Don’t get me wrong, I love Atlanta, but it was time to have a little distance from the Peach State.

Yes, in the same week, I got to see beautiful sunsets in Florida and California.

After five days in Naples, I flew briefly back to Atlanta on Wednesday night.  Enough time to celebrate my birthday (28…AAH!) with David, do laundry and repack.  Bright and early Friday morning, I set out for sunny San Diego to meet up with my high school roommate/best friend/maid of honor/personal fashion consultant, Brittanny.  David and Brittanny planned this girls’ weekend back in the fall and it was a perfect treat for my birthday weekend.

I had never been to San Diego before so I was a little nervous about the food situation, but I figured people on the west coast have a good grasp on healthy eating so I was hopeful that we would find places that understood all things gluten.  During my Naples trip, I had been spoiled because Jen and I had access to a full kitchen so most of our meals were made by us.  In San Diego I would not have that luxury, making my gluten-anxiety levels rise.

If there’s one thing Brittanny and I love to do, it’s lay out.  Yes, I know it’s bad for me, but I love getting tan.  Fortunately we stayed on Coronado Bay at the Loew’s Beach Resort so we had ample sun time in a beautiful setting.  We spent a lot of quality time at the pool, reading and soaking up rays, but we also did some touristy things, including the San Diego Zoo.  Even though the Loews is about 20 minutes from downtown San Diego, I would definitely recommend this hotel if you enjoy relaxing and not being too active on your vacation. If you’re looking for more action, I would recommend staying downtown at the W, where we went for drinks one night at their swanky rooftop ‘beach bar,’ complete with fire pits and heated sand.

Brittanny and I arrived in San Diego in the early afternoon on Friday and immediately checked into our room, ordered a tasty adult beverage and went to the pool.  Isn’t vacation wonderful?  After a relaxing afternoon we headed into the town of Coronado Bay for the evening.  We ordered a drink at Tent City, a cute wine bar downtown.  It was so great to be able to sit outside and enjoy a glass of wine.  I can definitely see how people who move to the west coast never come back!

After a leisurely drink we went to Miguel’s, a Mexican restaurant in Coronado Bay for dinner.  Brittanny called ahead to inquire about gluten-free food and sure enough, they were willing to accommodate me.  I was a little nervous because the restaurant was super busy on a Friday night and our waiter can most nicely be described as flaky.  He giggled a lot…very weird.  The hostess was confident that I could be helped and once I spoke with the manager, I felt at ease about safely ordering.  The folks at Miguel’s understood contamination and the manager made clear to me that they would cook my meal on a separate and cleaned surface.  Sadly, I could not eat the chips and salsa but they brought me a cheese quesadilla on corn tortillas as an appetizer with my own salsa.

For my entrée I ordered the chicken and steak fajitas, with corn tortillas, that they grilled specially for me.  The manager even brought mine out separately from the rest of our food, taking care to make sure I received the correct dish.  Britt ordered fajitas too and mine definitely looked different from hers.  This visual distinction is always a comfort for me because I know they restaurant has taken care to ensure my safety.  My meal came with black beans instead of refried beans.  (I prefer black beans anyways.)  The Miguel’s folks did not give me rice, and I’m not sure if this omission was because they add flour to their rice or if they thought rice contained gluten.  (Clarification: plain rice does not contain gluten.)  I didn’t think to ask.  The fajitas came with yummy grilled vegetables, including mushrooms, onions and peppers.  My meal was delicious and it sufficiently accommodated my craving for Mexican.

Miguel’s was a great start to our San Diego weekend, filled with delicious food, gorgeous weather and rest.  I did not get contamination the entire weekend, which is such a relief and allowed me to fully enjoy the trip.  Stay tuned for more details about the great places we ate in San Diego.

Sun, books, writing, cooking, and rest. Glorious vacation. After a few days in Naples, Florida with Jen I’m feeling totally relaxed and in the groove of vacation. We wake up with no alarm, eat breakfast with a beautiful view of the water, gather our things and head out for a few hours of writing. Yes, it’s a total nerd fest. We spend most of the morning writing and drinking coffee. Around noon we head home for lunch, and then an afternoon of sun and books. The big decisions of the day include, pool or beach and which book to read? Lots of great conversation during and in between all of these. A late afternoon “wog” (walk/jog) followed by cocktails, appetizers and delicious gluten-free dinner. Perfect day.

Our gluten-free menu this week:
“Smorgasbord” of appetizers including hummus, Farmstand carrots, dates & parmesan, chips & salsa

Gluten-free pizza (Bob’s Red Mill) with pears, goat cheese, rosemary and caramelized onions

Farmstand salad mix with watermelon radishes, pears, red onions, & dried cranberries

Barefoot Contessa’s Roast Chicken with onions, rutabegas & sweet potatoes

GF Fusili pasta with tomato sauce, garlic, ground turkey, onions and oregano

Betty Crocker Gluten-free Brownies

Tonight’s my last night in Naples. So sad. For the final night, we’re going out on the town for dinner in Old Naples at Café Lurcat. So we’re not being totally anti-social this vacation. We even went to hear live music at the beach club the other night. We didn’t dance, but we enjoyed watching the odd (and most likely drugged) man dance. (See photo below.)

Each gluten-free vacation gets easier and easier for me. I continue to learn more about traveling gluten-free and how to stay healthy away from home. Of course it helps to have a gluten-free travel buddy who likes to cook just as much as I do.